Shopping and eating in one blog—goodness, I’m in heaven!

Somehow, shopping for furniture and accessories always makes me work up an appetite. That’s why, over the years, I’ve managed to find great things to eat when I’m out looking for just the right piece to finish off a home. I’m going to share some of my new finds and old favorites with you.

First off, always a great standby for accessories is Ross. They’re known for their affordable finds, from picture frames and vases to tchotchke. Ross is also one of my first stops for accent pillows. If I need a few quick choices to step up a particular color in a space or play up a holiday look, I’ll head here. You do have to do some searching, and some days you might not find anything fabulous, while other days you’ll have two shopping carts full. The pillows I found today range from $5.99 to $9.99—what a steal!

Just steps from Ross on Ward Avenue, I always make it a point to stop by Bale in front of Sports Authority. I know there are many Bales around town, but this is my favorite, and here’s why: you have to try their tofu with mixed veggies. $7.95—hmm, the price went up. I remember it being cheaper, but that’s just the sign of the times. It’s tofu, broccoli, cabbage, onion, celery and carrots, stir-fried in a light gravy and served steaming hot with rice. It tastes like home cooking. I always have to have mine with a little kick of Sriracha on the side. Whenever I order this, invariably somebody in line asks, ‘What is she having? I’ll have one of those.’ This the only Bale that I know of that makes this particular dish.

Next stop: Indige Design on Waialae Avenue. They sell everything from furniture and home accessories to clothing and jewelry to hand-woven fabrics and handbags—kind of an all-in-one shopping stop. One particularly incredible lamp I saw today can be used as a table lamp or a small floor lamp. It’s from northern Thailand, $545, handmade paper over cotton gauze, and wood that was collected along the banks of the Mekong, very cool. If you’re looking for interesting accessories that have an Island flair with a unique twist, Indige is a great find.

Fortunately for me, right next door is JJ’s French Pastry. It feels like a Parisian café with touches of Southeast Asia because the owner is Laotian. His specialty is his chocolate pyramid dusted with cocoa powder, an amazing melt-in-your-mouth conception. The tiny pyramid is 99 cents—it’s a little bite of heaven. Chocoholics won’t want to miss that!

My daughter Nicki’s favorite is the chocolate fruit basket, a handmade latticed chocolate basket filled with a layer of sponge cake under a white cream that’s not too sweet or foamy, with fruit layered on top of that and finally, a sweet glaze. It’s $3.95 and it tastes just as good as it looks.
The last thing I had was a rum walnut tart, $4.50 (OK, I can never have just one thing here). The crust tastes like homemade pie crust, just the right blend of flaky and dense. It’s packed full of chopped walnuts with a glaze on top. Absolutely fantastic. That’s my favorite just because I’m a nuts fanatic. All my recommendations should go with JJ’s cappuccino.

These are just a few of my favorite combos. I’ll share more with you another time. Let me know if you get to check these out. And what about you? Where do you shop when you’re hungry?

Behind the Scenes: KITV, false eyelashes and a happy girl

How do these newscasters do it? They have to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed so early in the morning. On the other hand, I’m still recovering from Wednesday’s segment on KITV. Here’s the story.

Every other Wednesday, I’m on KITV’s morning show with Mahealani Richardson and Dan Meisenzahl, giving home style tips. I’m on at 6:45, so I try to get there at 6. Translation: I need to be up by 5, because it takes me a long time to guzzle my coffee and put on these impossible false eyelashes, which I don’t quite have the hang of yet.

Anyone who knows me knows I love makeup. I’ve been hooked since I was 13 years old and discovered strawberry Lip Smackers. But for TV, you have to spackle a lot more on just to look like your normal self. For me that means eyes that look like Tammy Faye.

This week I had to wake up at 4:30 because my daughter Nicki wanted to go in with me. She was starting school the next day, so this would be her last opportunity to see Mommy on TV. I got up extra early to get myself ready and feed her breakfast.

We arrived at the station a little after 6 and waited in the wings while Mahealani did the newscast. Nicki was enthralled. She’s such a performer that she can’t wait to be on TV someday. To Nicki’s disappointment, Dan was not there. He was away on assignment. She loves Dan! But don’t tell Mahealani that!

When it was my time to get set up, I laid out my area rugs, and Nicki my helpful assistant snapped some great behind-the-scenes photos.

My topic for the day was shopping with focus, and focusing on how to find the right area rug. Here are a couple of tips:

Tip #1: If you have a sofa you need to tie into, take a cushion from the sofa when you go shopping—you’ll save yourself a lot of guess work. I used a sample of a dark green fabric.

Tip #2: Don’t go for the obvious tie-in and look for a green area rug. Find one that has some green as its secondary or accent color. This way, the sofa will not get lost: instead, it will accentuate the green in the rug and your room will begin to feel much more pulled together.

Tip #3: Don’t let your patterns fight with each other! If there is a lot of pattern on your sofa, tone it down in the rug. By the same token, if you want a fabulous statement rug with lots of color and interesting designs, top it with a more understated sofa. Let one or the other have top billing.

Before you knew it, the segment was over. Boy, do five minutes go by fast when you’re trying to get all that information in. Mahealani was great enough to call Nicki in at the end for a little face time, so she got bragging rights to share at school.

We were out of there by 7. Mission accomplished: I got to share a few tips, give my daughter a thrill, and finally take my Tammy Faye eyes off!

For more tips from Cathy Lee logon to http://www.rsvpstyle.com/.